VENICE, Italy -- The Spanish foreign minister said on Sunday the European Union would discuss introducing possible sanctions against Israel if it went on rejecting calls for a cease-ire in the Palestinian territories.

"We discussed the possibility (of sanctions) at the last General Council in Luxembourg," Foreign Minister Josep Pique told Reuters on the sidelines of a meeting in Venice. Spain currently holds the rotating EU presidency.

"It's a possible scenario but we have to discuss it among the 15 members and have a common position. Some countries are in favor of introducing sanctions very, very soon, others are more reluctant. So we have to discuss it," he said.

Pique also said the 15-member EU would weigh sanctions against the Palestinian Authority "If it makes less than 100 percent effort to fight terrorism" against Israel.

Pique and EU Foreign Policy Chief Javier Solana had gone to the Middle East on an EU mission to press for a cease-fire, but the effort ended in failure on Thursday after Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon stopped them from meeting Palestinian Leader Yasser Arafat.

Meanwhile, Belgian Foreign Minister Louis Michel said on Sunday the European Union could rethink trade ties with Israel after it barred high EU officials from meeting Palestinian Leader Yasser Arafat, Reuters reported.

An EU mission to press for a Middle East cease-fire ended in failure on Thursday after Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon stopped EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana and Spanish Foreign Minister Josep Pique meeting Arafat.

Adding insult to injury, Israel announced once they left it would let United States Middle East Envoy Anthony Zinni visit Arafat, who remains under Israeli siege in his headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

"This is an insult. We should not let it pass like that," Michel, known for his outspoken remarks, told Belgian television channel VRT.

He said one option for the union would be to re-examine an association treaty with Israel.

"We could talk about it, debate it with them and possibly open a procedure to see whether it is suitable that such an agreement should remain valid after such an attitude on the part of Sharon," Michel said.

The European Commission, the EU executive body, insisted the bloc did not feel humiliated by the Israeli rebuff, saying the envoys took "a calculated risk" in setting off on their mission.

Diplomats have said Michel argued for suspending the association treaty with Israel at an EU Foreign Ministers' Emergency Meeting on Wednesday.